Bermuda is to enter into crunch talks with the Isle of Man over a disputed satellite slot which could produce millions of dollars in revenue.

It comes after the Isle of Man filed an application to create a new slot 0.3 degrees away from the Bermuda slot.

The UK?s Office of Communication (Ofcom) is now looking at the matter after submitting Bermuda?s claims to modify the footprint of one of its allotted slots to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott told the House yesterday: ?Due to the fact Bermuda?s plans to modify its slot and that the resulting footprint could not co-exist with the proposed Isle of Man filing, the Ministry will next enter into formal coordination discussions with the Isle of Man.

?These talks will be held under the auspices of Ofcom, which has the responsibility of representing all UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to the ITU.?

Mr. Scott said the satellite slot located over the middle of America had the potential to be a real money-spinner through licensing it to a satellite operator.

?With the first milestone of filing being achieved, the Ministry is now focusing on the development of the necessary legislation in order to create and support the regulatory regime required to meet both the international treaty and the UK legislative obligations,? he said.